I am back from the little break I took. I missed last week’s blog because of Thanksgiving and kept pushing it off, but after two weeks, I think it’s a good time to bring back the blog. I mean, hell, the Knicks advance past the group stage of the In-Season Tournament. It’s as good a time as ever to come back and blog about the Knicks. I am thrilled the Knicks moved on because it would be hilarious if they won the first IST (I’m not writing it out, so the abbreviation will do for the rest of the blog.) They will probably be clowned for winning it on Twitter, but I’d be happy, especially since it was no easy task. Losing to the Bucks in the first IST games set us behind immediately. Then they had to come back from down 21 against the Heat. Finally, they had to obliterate the Horents just to make it as a wild-card team. It was a difficult task, and I’d love for the Knicks to win. Their schedule gets harder for advancing because they now have to play the Bucks five times this season.
It’s been a fun two weeks as the Knicks went 4-2, but now I have to discuss the negatives. I tried relaxing on my takes on Julius Randle because the scoring has been better. Since November 6th, he has been averaging 23.4 PPG on 43% from the field. His offense has been better, but the biggest problem still remains. He still gives minimum effort on plays he’s not involved in and on defense. The game against the Suns could have gone entirely different if Randle cared. Randle’s bullshit needs to end. I can’t believe a coach like Tom Thibodeau lets it happen so consistently. The Knicks are a team of gritty players who consistently go above and beyond to make the extra play. It feels like Randle rarely does that, and I will complain about it until the end of time.
Another thing that has me worried is Queinten Grimes. Since coming back from injury, he has been a zero on offense. He should be a 3&D player, but he has shot 27% from three in the last four games. I wish we would see more from him offensively because if he keeps playing like this, I would rather have Josh Hart starting games. Also, a funny stat on Grimes is that he is 0/1 on free throws this season, which came in the first game. It’s a funny stat, but I would love for him to go to the line more.
The only positive thing I have to write about, not to say the last two weeks weren’t a great week, is Jalen Brunson continues to impress me with how good he is. Since my previous blog, Jalen Brunson is averaging 26.3 PPG on 53% from the field and 51% from three. Brunson continues to do Brunson things, and I do not want to imagine a world with Brunson not on the Knicks.
Weekly Grades:
Knicks: B+
Jalen Brunson: A+
Julius Randle: B
RJ Barrett: B
Mitchell Robinson: A
Quinten Grimes: D+
Immanuel Quickley: A-
Donte DiVincenzo: B
Josh Hart: B+
Isaiah Hartenstein: B+
Now, let’s see what the Knicks have up next for the coming week.
The Knicks play tonight! Or Thursday, depending on the time you are reading this. They play the worst team in the Association as they take on the Pistons at MSG. It’s laughable how bad the Pistons are. I had hope for them last season, thinking they would have a breakout season, and they somehow have gotten worse. The Pistons have only won two games this year, their previous one going back to October 28th. Zero wins in November so far, and the Knicks will keep it that way with a blowout win. The Knicks then go to Toronto to play the Raports, and I need the Knicks to get a win. The Raptors are an average team, and a win against Toronto will show me the Knicks are better. The good teams beat the lesser teams. Finally, they go to Milwaukee to play the Bucks for the IST. The Bucks are 2-0 against us this season, but hopefully, things go differently so they can advance to the semi-finals. It will be a difficult game, but the Knicks are a good basketball team. If Julius tries his hardest and RJ and Brunson’s shots are falling, there is no reason why the Knicks can’t win that game.
SmallDog Sports 
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